Outreach in Action

Tide Me Over tackles food insecurity challenges for school-aged children

by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall

Lately the pandemic has cast a brighter light on food insecurity in our country, but the problem is hardly new.  In fact, a Stockbridge Community Outreach program to send home backpacks of food with kids who qualify for the free school lunch program traces its roots back over a decade.

The idea was first brought up for consideration by board member Jean Buurma at a February 2009 Outreach Board meeting. By April 2009, letters went out inviting 30 kids at Smith Elementary to participate in a pilot Weekend Tide-Me-Over program, with Cheryl Holloway leading the effort.

By fall 2009, the program had increased enrollment to 35 Smith students. With the added leadership of Judy Esper and support from Crossroads Community Church, by fall 2011 the campaign broadened to include Heritage School.  Participation eventually mushroomed to nearly 100 kids, and Outreach augmented the effort with a summer Tide-Me-Over program.

Funding over the years has come from individuals, churches, community organizations, 5 Healthy Towns Foundation and even Ingham County Commissioners.

During the early part of the pandemic the Tide-Me-Over programs skidded to a halt while Stockbridge School District provided meals for a week at a time to those in need. But in fall 2021, we restarted the effort. Two familiar faces—Cheryl Holloway and Judy Esper—again took on the challenge of coordinating efforts at Smith and Heritage, respectively, aided by a cadre of volunteers. Outreach also expanded to the Jr/Sr High School with a pilot Tide-Me-Over program headed by new Outreach board member Sherry Bush.

For fall 2022, Stockbridge Community Outreach will again offer Tide-Me-Over programs for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students who need food help. Once a parent or guardian has signed a student up, bags will start arriving the week of September 12, usually on Fridays.

For students at Smith, bags will be delivered to each classroom; at Heritage, bags will be delivered to the students’ lockers; for Jr/Sr high school students and homeschooled students, bags will be available for pick-up at Outreach.

Applications will be sent home at the beginning of the school year. They can also be downloaded from www.stockbridgecommunityoutreach.org or from the Outreach Facebook page.  Cheryl Holloway and Sherry Bush will be at the helm of this year’s endeavor.

Feedback on Tide-me-Over has been both very positive and very gratifying.  Take, for example, this letter received from a parent of TMO recipients:

“Just wanted to let you know how much your service is appreciated. The kids really enjoy looking in their bags each week to see what kind of surprises are in there. It brings them joy. Sometimes money gets really tight and it is comforting to know that they will have something to look forward to.”

Cheryl Holloway (left) and Sherry Bush will be at the helm of this fall’s Tide-Me-Over endeavor, sending home backpacks of food with kids who qualify. Applications are available through school and online. Photo credit: Jo Mayer